One-piece disposable toothbrush



Oct. 1, 1963 A. SMITH ETAL. 3,105,260

ONE-PIECE DISPOSABLE TOOTHBRUSH Filed Jan. 23. 1961 IN VEN TORS ALLEN SMITH SIDNEY H. BROWN Mum ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,165,260 ONE-PIECE DISTOSABLE TO0THBRUSH Allen Smith, Wyndmoor, and Sidney H. Brown, Philadelphia, Pa. (both of 8509 Patton Road, Philadelphia 18,

) Filed Jan. 23, 1961, Ser. No. 84,115

2 Claims. (Cl. -167) This invention relates to a toothbrush, and more particularly to a one-piece disposable toothbrush.

A large number of toothbrushes have been proposed heretofore. The large amount of activity in the toothbrush art is indicative of the fact that present brushes are not satisfactory. The present invention is a toothbrush of the type which is adapted to be manipulated by a persons forefinger.

A large number of finger manipulated toothbrushes have been proposed heretofore. For example, see US. Patents 1,168,998; 1,894,413 and 2,396,548. Each of these finger manipulated toothbrushes suffer from a common defect. That is, each of the finger manipulated toothbrushes proposed heretofore provide a means for securing a persons finger to the uppermost surface of the brush back opposite to the bristles on the brush back. Accordingly, the over-all height which must be accommodated within a persons mouth includes the height of the bristles, the thickness of the brush back, the thickness of the persons finger, and the thickness of the sleeve or loop through which the finger extends. The over-all height of the finger manipulated toothbrushes proposed theretofore is objectionable and renders the device impractical. Also, it is unsanitary to place ones finger into ones mouth.

The toothbrush of the present invention overcomes the above-mentioned objectionable defects by providing a finger loop on the same side of the brush back as the bristles and by longitudinally spacing the loop from the brush back. Accordingly, a persons finger will not enter his mouth when utilizing the toothbrush of the present invention. Also, the over-all height of the portion which enters the mouth is substantially the same as a conventional toothbrush having an elongated handle.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel one-piece toothbrush.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel onepiece disposable finger manipulated toothbrush.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a toothbrush having an expandable finger loop capable of accommodating various sized fingers.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a novel disposable toothbrush capable of being manufactured so inexpensively that it may be disposed of after a single use.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention there is shown in the drawings a form which is presently preferred; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational View of the toothbrush of the present invention with a portion thereof partly in section.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the toothbrush of the present invention.

FIGURE 3 is an end elevational view taken along lines 3-3 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is an end elevational view taken along lines 44 in FIGURE 1.

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein like numerals indicate like elements, there is shown in FIGURE 1 3,105,260 Patented Oct. 1, 1963 ice a one-piece disposable toothbrush of the present invention designated generally as 10.

The toothbrush 10 of the present invention comprises a brush back 12 made from a flexible plastic material such as polyethylene. The brush back 12 is designed so as to be substantially planar and have arcuately contoured side and top surfaces as shown by a :comparison of FIGURES 1, 2 and 4. Bristles 14, made from the same material as the brush back 12, are integral with and depending from a bottom surface of the brush back 12 as indicated by the partially sectioned portion in FIGURE 1. The brush back 12 is provided with a cavity 16 as shown more clearly in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3. The purpose of the cavity 16 will be made clear hereinafter.

A finger gripping means for manipulating the brush back 12 is integrally connected with the brush back 12 and extends downwardly from the plane thereof in the same direction as said bristles. The finger gripping means 18 includes a handle 20 extending along the longitudinal axis of the brush back 12. As shown more clearly in FIGURE 3, the handle 20 is arcuate in transverse crosssection. As shown more clearly in FIGURE 2, the handle 22 has a width greater than the width of the brush back The finger gripping means 18 also includes an expandible U-shaped finger loop 22. The loop 22 is integral with the handle 26 and is provided with a plurality of corrugations 24 so that the loop 22 may accommodate various sized fingers. The thinness of the loop 22 and the flexible material from which it is made enables the loop 22 to be resilient. The front edge 26 of the loop 22 is cut on a bias as shown in FIGURE 1 to facilitate a gripping action between a finger and the loop 22. Also, the bias cut of the front edge 26 facilitates the use of the brush 19 in a manner which does not cause undue contact between the loop 22 and a persons mouth.

It is to be emphasized that the toothbrush 10 of the present invention is a one-piece toothbrush. The entire toothbrush 10 as shown in the various figures of the drawing is molded in one piece. Accordingly, the production costs of a toothbrush in accordance with the present invention are substantially lower than the corresponding costs for brushes made heretofore. In view of this fact, the toothbrush 10 of the present invention can be discarded after a single use if desired. This feature is important from a sanitary aspect.

The toothbrush 10 of the present invention is utilized in the following manner:

The toothbrush 10 of the present invention is packaged in a small bag of the cellophane type with one or two small packages of toothpaste which are individually sufiicient for one brushing. A person utilizing the toothbrush of the present invention removes the toothbrush from the package and inserts his forefinger through the finger loop 22. For purposes of illustration, a finger 28 is shown in phantom in FIGURE 1. It is to be noted that the finger 28 extends through the loop 22 with the end of the finger abutting one end of the brush back 12. The cavity 16 in the brush back 12 receives the fingernail 30 on the finger 28.

The finger loop 22 is expandable so as to accommodate various sized fingers. The resiliency of the loop 22 and the contact between the end of the finger and the end of the brush back 12 provides sufficient retention means so that the brush 1% of the present invention does not slip off the finger 28 while the brush 10 is being manipulated during the teeth cleaning process. In addition to receiving the fingernail 30, the cavity 16 reduces the overall cost of manufacture of the toothbrush 10 of the present invention as well as the shipping costs thereof.

The disposable aspect of the present invention as well as the nominal cost thereof facilitates merchandising of the same in vending machines. The toothbrush 18 of the present invention is particularly adaptable for use in hotels, motels, boats, etc. wherein the toothbrush will be provided as a gratuity to the user of the accommodations provided by these organizations.

As pointed out above, the toothbrush It of the present invention is an integral one-piece toothbrush molded from polyethylene. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other materials such as polypropylene and polyurethane may be substituted for polyethylene.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms Without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.

Weclaim: V

1. A one-piece disposable toothbruth comprising a plastic brush back having bristles integral therewith, said 20 bristles extending downwardly from a bottom surface on said back, a handle extending from one end of said back along the longitudinal axis of said back, a U-shaped resilient finger loop, the free ends of said loop being integral with and depending from said handle, the bottom portion only of said resilient loop being corrugated so as to provide an expandable loop capable of receiving vari- References Cited in the, file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,645,965 Neumerkel Oct. 18, 1927 2,968,827 Lawsine et a1. Jan. 24, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 7 15,892 Great Britain Nov. 17, 1887 578,274 France Sept. 22, 1924 1,132,098 France Oct. 29, 1956 

1. A ONE-PIECE DISPOSABLE TOOTHRBUSH COMPRISING A PLASTIC BRUSH BACK HAVING BRISTLES INTEGRAL THEREWITH, SAID BRISTLES EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM A BOTTOM SURFACE ON SAID BACK, A HANDLE EXTENDING FROM ONE END OF SAID BACK ALONG THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID BACK, A U-SHAPED RESILIENT FINGER LOOP, THE FREE ENDS OF SAID LOOP BEING INTEGRAL WITH AND DEPENDING FROM SAID HANDLE, THE BOTTOM PORTION ONLY OF SAID RESILIENT LOOP BEING CORRUGATED SO AS TO PROVIDE AN EXPANDABLE LOOP CAPABLE OF RECEIVING VARIOUS SIZE FINGERS, AND A FINGERNAIL RECESS IN SAID BACK, WHEREBY SAID BRUSH BACK AND BRISTLES MAY BE MANIPULATED BY A FINGER EXTENDING THROUGH SAID LOOP WITH A FINGERNAIL BEING RECEIVED WITHIN SAID FINGERNAIL RECESS. 